Five rare first-edition novels by Jane Austen were recently auctioned for over £181,000 (INR 1.82 Crores) in Gloucestershire, reported the BBC.
The books were bought by a UK-based collector for roughly £5,000 in the 1970s-80s. And now, they were being sold by her daughter. The books were auctioned at Dominic Winter Auctions.
It is noted that Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' was first published in 1813, with just 1,500 copies in print. And one of those first-edition copies was sold at the auction for £92,000 (INR 92,58,176)-- thus becoming the highest sold novel at the auction.
Austens's debut novel 'Sense and Sensibility', which was published anonymously in 1811, was sold for £62,000 (INR 62,36,506).
The first-edition copy of 'Emma', which was published in the 1816, was auctioned for £12,800 (INR 12, 87,536).
Meanwhile, the first-edition copies of Austen's 'Mansfield Park' was sold for £8,400 (INR 8,44,946)and 'Northanger Abbey' and 'Persuasion' was sold for £6,400 (INR 6,43,768), as per the BBC.
Auctioneer Chris Albury told the BBC that the rare novels were bought by four different people. He also said that the owner of these rare books had decided to put them up for auction so as to "let others get the pleasure from them and use the money for new projects and plans".
